“We’re Still Here” (Cause We Ain’t All There)- Prez Box
I asked Google/AI to list the oldest scuba diving clubs in the USA, and I received the following response:
1) Boston Sea Rovers (1954);
2) The Sea Lancers (1956), Hickham Air Force Base, Oahu, Hawaii;
3) Underwater Adventure Seekers (1959), Washington, DC;
4) The Old Colony Amphibians (also 1959).
So we are tied for the top third oldest dive club in the USA according to Google.
2026 is a year of rebuilding for the OCA and preparing our club for the future. Recent changes include (a) new officers and board of directors, of course; (b) a new website where minutes are now taken online and distributed automatically to members via email; (c) incorporation as a Rhode Island non-profit (disregarded for tax purposes at the federal level); (d) a new Tax ID number; (e) a new club bank account using the non-profit tax ID instead of someone’s personal SSN at the bank; (f) directors and officers (D&O) insurance; (g) moving our club mailing address to the “clubhouse” (i.e. my warehouse). The changes to the corporate structure were necessary to allow us to buy the needed insurance. Our Board of Directors are also currently considering some minor changes to our bylaws to bring them up to date, which will be brought to the membership for a vote, I am guessing later this Fall.
At the same time we are making these necessary changes to update our “corporate structure”, we are also seeing significant threats to our existence. The long and short of it is that people are just not diving as much as they used to. And we cannot legitimately have a “dive club” if people are not diving. Not to blame anyone or burden anybody with a “sob story”, the reasons are numerous. Life changes, people getting older, covid lapse, lack of lobsters (waters getting warmer), changing regulations (striper slot limits), no boats, bigger boats, sharks, vacation homes, injuries, taking up other sports, etc. Look around, there are not nearly as many dive shops as there used to be. Liability insurance has placed a large role in that.
Through it all, we’re still diving. But our club dives or individual dives may look a bit different than they did 20 years ago. Our meetings may feel a bit different as well, incorporating more virtual meetups and less in-person meetings than in years past. More destination diving perhaps.
What is absolutely essential as we move forward, however, is that we bring in new dive members. This will require linking up with other dive clubs, inviting friends or “dive strangers” to join, reaching out as “dive ambassadors” to other clubs, social media sites, dive shops and dive groups. While nobody can or should try and force a boat captain to bring a stranger, newbie or anybody else that they are not comfortable on their boat, there needs to be a way of embracing new divers and new members with actual dives. This may require doing the dreadful “shore dive” now and then and taking one for the team. Diving can be at times a “selfish sport”, but there needs to a way to welcome the next generation with open arms if our club is going to survive and be more than a “drinking club that talks about diving”.
As Jimmy Buffet once said, “bubbles up”. A few of my pics below from dive years past …
Bill Weedon
2026 OCA President
Spearfishing Tournament
This year’s date is August 2. Hope some sharpshooters can attend! I was just out off Newport. The stripers taunted me and tautog were everywhere! Here’s a blast from the past!
From left to right: Bob Riecke, Ray Burill, Rick Amaral, Me; On Rick’s Boat Cap’n Nils.
Ian
Finding the Rare Rhinopias in Tulamben
During a dive in April 2026 in the black sands of Tulamben, Bali, at the magical Alam Batu Resort, I had the incredible fortune of spotting a Rhinopias Scorpionfish. Known for their distinct, paddle-like eyebrow tentacles and brilliant coloration, these master mimics are a dream find for any diver and underwater photographer. This particular specimen was beautifully camouflaged against the volcanic slope, making the discovery feel like finding a needle in a haystack. It was truly a spectacular dive and a reminder of why Bali’s waters are so magical.
During another spectacular dive, we also found a mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). This highly intelligent cephalopod is famous for its unique ability to impersonate other marine animals—such as venomous sea snakes, lionfish, and flatfish—to deter predators and ambush prey. It achieves this by rapidly changing its skin color, texture, and body shape, using specialized cells (chromatophores) and muscles to mimic the appearance and movement of up to 15 different species. It is a true master of disguise in this open volcanic sandy habitat.
Suzie Bourdeau
SCUBA DIVING TRIPS
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Suzie
OCA Dive Banquet
The Annual OCA Awards Banquet was held June 14, at The Irish Ceilidhe Club of RI. Many past and present members and guests attended and enjoyed a delicious buffet. We laughed through our Foggy Mask awards. John Packhem received the Life Member award, and Chris Weedon and Diane Brady both received Louis Petas Honorary Member award. Efe Elçi designed and fabricated the awards. John Stanford put together and ran the slideshow. Members donated fantastic prizes for our raffle. Thanks to all who attended, donated prizes, and thanks to Carolyn Weedon’s for selling raffle tickets. “A good time was had by all”.
Marie Flaherty Drumm, Secretary
Just to clarify our non profit registration
We are incorporated in RI as a non profit organization. 501C7 is a federal designation for tax exemption as a non profit social organization. We are not exempted from tax under this clause. We are exempted due to our club having less than $5000 in annual revenue. We have no specific (IRS) registration under section 501. (nor is one needed – editor).
Ian
Anchors
If anyone in the club needs a free anchor give me a shout before I put them on marketplace.
Ian
Finding a wreck on a wreck…
I wanted to share with you my experience diving for a day in Türkiye and I thought this first photo would make a good start. In the photo, you can see the dual anchor chains of a modern vessel, resting forever on the remains of a wreck from approximately 1,300 years ago.
First of all, for those of you wondering who I am, my name is Efe and I joined OCA in May. Unless you have been to a recent meeting or attended the annual banquet, we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet. As I mentioned, I’m going to tell you about my dives in Bodrum last week, which was a welcome occurrence after a year without diving while living in RI. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into diving in Türkiye.
I started diving in 1996 when I was 15 on a high school trip to the Maldives and was certified as a PADI Junior Open Water Diver. After finishing high school, I dove very sporadically until I joined the diving club in college. I got to dive in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus while helping organize the school’s underwater photography and videography conferences and taking part in underwater archeology dives, documenting and studying wrecks and ruins in the waters of Cyprus. After college, I once again dove sporadically, logging just a few dives every 2-3 years whenever the opportunity arose. In 2021, I found a YouTube channel called Dive Talk where instructors Woody and Gus, who are also rebreather and cave divers, discussed diving and reacted to dive videos. Because of Dive Talk, I rekindled my love for diving and made a pact with myself to strive to dive every month. Since then, I have amassed over 220 dives while getting certified as a CMAS 3 star diver (equivalent to PADI Divemaster) and a TDI full open circuit tech diver. In fact, this past year was the longest period I went without diving since that decision (the previous “record” was 3.5 months).
Enough about me, let’s get to some diving! Now, Bodrum is not one of the best places to dive in Turkey, in fact it might not crack the top 3 dive sites in the country. Kaş is arguably the top dive site, but it is also nestled deep on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast—a good 12 hour drive (with breaks, 560 miles) or 15 hour bus ride from Istanbul. That doesn’t even mention the three-plus-hour plus drive from the nearest major airport if you plan to fly in. Bodrum, on the other hand, is more easily accessible. It is located on the Aegean Sea on Turkey’s south east coast, almost where the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean meet. Bodrum is one of Turkey’s oldest and most well known touristic cities, renowned for its nightlife. It is also a stone’s throw from Greek islands such as Kos and Kalymnos. Every other summer, our family makes the trip to spend up to a week island hopping and visiting friends and long time acquaintances.
At this point, it’s important to mention the first of many glaring differences between diving in the US and Turkey that this article will highlight. Granted, it wouldn’t be fair to pigeonhole all diving in a country based on a few experiences so bear with me if your experience is more similar to diving in Turkey than diving in the US. Majority of dive operators (i.e. dive centers) in Turkey are boat-centric, even though quite a few are shore-based. Very rarely do you see divers, especially rec divers, show up to a dive spot, get their gear out, pair up with a random diver who is also there and dive from shore. My first experience at Ft. Wetherill blew my mind in this aspect, especially how the dive center organizing the dive and barbeque was very hands off regarding the dive portion, just giving general advice to divers. In Turkey, unless you are diving with a large group or personally know the boat captain or guide, the dive operator determines almost every aspect of the dive. Diving in Fort Lauderdale was a more relatable experience since it was boat-based, but even then, some things still felt strange compared to what I was used to. Picking rental weights from the store, personally coordinating my rental tanks with the fill guys, and not having a buddy system on most dives are just a few examples.
Most dive centers (boats) in Bodrum are based west of the city, and mostly visit the usual dive spots. Having dived extensively in Turkey for the past 5 years, I have visited many of these spots multiple times. In fact, with the cost of diving increasing steadily over the years, I have made a point of picking dive spots or formats that present new experiences instead of just doing the same old thing. I would rather do a liveaboard in the Red Sea and get 3-4 dives a day than do a shore-based dive week where a lot of time is “wasted” going from the hotel to the boat, sailing to the dive spot, sailing back, walking around town looking for a spot to have dinner, etc. A recent format that has intrigued me for these very reasons is the sleep-aboard, where the dive boat goes to a rarely visited dive spot perhaps a few hours from port, stays the night there with divers sleeping on the top deck on mats and sleeping bags. My choice of operator for the dives in question for this article was similarly motivated: I went with the most eastern dive operator for a chance to dive Yassı Island, which recently reopened for diving after years of being off-limits due to its status as a protected archaeological site. The dive center owner, Tarik, was also a fellow student during my TDI tec check dives, and I had been meaning to patronize the establishment for years for this reason. It also didn’t hurt that it was very close to our summer house in Gümüşlük, about 30 miles east of Bodrum city center, saving us the 45 minute drive without traffic.
My dive group consisted of 3 divers of varying experience levels and two special guests with zero scuba diving experience. Aside from myself, the group included Ugur, an instructor friend whom I have known for some years (who was with me during my last Red Sea liveaboard in November 2025 and who just happens to have a summer house 5 minutes from ours), my wife Ahu (who is about to complete her CMAS 2 star certification—equivalent to PADI Advanced OW, except requiring around 20-25 dives—once she takes her written exam), and our two almost 13-year-old sons. This year, the federation in charge of scuba diving in Turkey lowered the minimum age for scuba diving from 14 to 12. Coincidentally our twin boys, who started swimming at 3 and diving in the pool without equipment since then, had also been clamoring to start diving for years and this seemed like a great opportunity for them to get their discovery dives in. We were told the first dive of the day would be to a wreck at Yassı Island, and due to the depth of 105 feet and potential currents, only Uğur and I would be taking part. This worked out well, as it allowed Ahu and the boys to wake up at their regular time, have breakfast and drive down to the dive center around noon for their dives.
Uğur and I had a quick breakfast of sorts—some simit (thinner bagels, about the width of a carnival ring toss ring, covered in roasted sesame seeds) and pastries— then drove to the dive center. We arrived 20 minutes later than planned, just 10 minutes before the boat left. While we started unpacking our dive bags and putting on our wetsuits on the boat, we were told that we would be leaving with the inflatable boat. Suddenly, staff began hauling our gear to the inflatable boat a few spots over. Now, I’m very particular about my gear, I don’t even let staff handle it during full service liveaboards in Egypt. I am usually on the boat 30 minutes before the stated departure time, which gives me ample time before other divers arrive to set up my gear, troubleshoot any issues, and avoid being distracted or interrupted by small talk or questions. After not diving for a whole year, arriving at the boat 10 minutes before departure with gear that has also been sitting around for a year in a dive bag and a rusty diving algorithm on my mind is not the key to a successful dive. I had the presence of mind to at least put my wing and regulator on a spare tank they had on the main boat, as the tanks for the dive had already been placed on the inflatable boat. There were no issues with the wing or regulator, and as I continued to get dressed, those items were also carried to the inflatable boat. We finally moved over to the boat and started making our way to the site of our first dive: the Mirna M wreck. This Lebanese-flagged, 495 foot cargo vessel was originally named the Washington Wood; it ran aground in September 1993 while carrying livestock and sank to a maximum depth of 105 feet. It just so happened to sink right on top of a 7th century Byzantine era wreck carrying clay pots of oil and various other goods. The remains of this older wreck are easily seen all over the seafloor around the Mirna M wreck.
As the surface was rather choppy with waves, Tarik Hoca decided to use the island’s protection for staging. Afterward, the captain would drop us right over the wreck and return to the same position to wait for us to surface. Right off the bat, I came face to face with karma as I attached my wing and regulator to the tank assigned tank; the first stage immediately free-flowed. I quickly turned the air off and tried to understand why the almost same setup that was working 30 minutes ago suddenly decided it wanted more of a role. It didn’t take long; a quick glance at the now removed 1st stage made it evident that the O-ring had dislodged itself. No big deal, I looked into the tank valve to fish out the O-ring but it wasn’t there. A quick look around the boat floor revealed the full scale of the issue: the missing O-ring was likely still on the large boat. No worries though, that is why we have dive savers, right? Except my dive saver was back in my dive bag, on the big boat, forgotten in the hectic race to get the dive boat departed on time. A quick discussion with the captain also revealed that they too had forgotten their O-ring kit but did have extra regulators. Not a very big fan of using other people’s or, worse yet, dive centers’ rental gear unless extremely necessary, I tried to repurpose one of the 1st stage O-rings from the rental regulators for my own use but without an O-ring pick, it proved pointless without damaging the O-ring and leaving me with no regulator to dive with. So, using the rental regulator was my only option for the first dive.
As we finished preparations and headed towards the wreck, we were instructed to enter the water neutrally buoyant and coordinate a few feet deep to avoid separation by potential surface currents. We entered the water on either side of the inflatable. My initial reaction was that it wasn’t as cold as I expected (my Teric showed the surface water temperature as 77°F after the dive, with the lowest recorded water temperature at just below 70°F). This expectation was perhaps fueled by Uğur choosing to wear a 5mm wetsuit with an additional vest and hood compared to my 3mm without a hood or gloves. We completed our bubble checks and with no issues, proceeded to follow Tarik Hoca and 4 other divers. The visibility was not bad, Uğur and I later agreed that it was at least 50 feet, and there was almost no current. It took us just a little over 6 minutes to reach the wreck and descend to its deepest point, where the stern and propeller were situated on the seafloor with the deck tilted at a 45-degree angle. Unfortunately, we spent very little time on the wreck, proceeding along the hull from the stern to the bow and then back to the stern once we were level with the deck. Uğur and I, trailing the group slightly, occasionally stopped to examine the few openings without penetrating the wreck but afterwards we were both disappointed with the dive. We both agreed that, with very little effort, we could have spent more time on the wreck. After leaving the Mirna M wreck, we saw the remains of hundreds of clay amphoras along the seafloor. These created a significant contrast with the dual anchor chains lying on them, leading further inland from the wreck. The rest of the dive was mundane, it involved ascending along the coast towards Yassi Island before surfacing close to the cape of the island and swimming the rest of the way to the boat. Unfortunately, spending very little of the dive on the wreck and not seeing anywhere near the amount of marine life on it as seen on videos of the wreck online led us to be significantly underwhelmed.
The second dive of the day was Kargi Island, right across from our port of departure. It was meant to be together with Ugur and Ahu, but due to Ahu’s low number of dives and lack of recent diving experience Tarik Hoca decided on the boat en route to the dive site that we would split into two groups. Ugur and I would dive with Tarik Hoca while Ahu would dive a shallower profile with the other instructor and the twins would wait on the boat for their discovery dives. Towards the end of our respective dives we would meet up in an area dubbed “the coffee place” for its resemblance to a small lounge where one might sit down for some coffee. Our briefing also included a small passageway under a boulder where we needed to be careful not to touch and damage the marine life inside. With the O-ring issue remedied on land after the first dive, having my own regulator ready for the second dive was a comforting feeling. This was a much more pleasant dive, with the surface water temperature at 84°F, the lowest recorded water temperature at 68°F, and visibility around 80 feet. We saw significantly more fish compared to the first dive and even encountered an eel watching us as we swam by. Unfortunately we also encountered many more ghost nets and abandoned lines. Even though it lacked a focal point like the wrecks in the first dive, this dive was overall much more memorable dive in comparison.
More importantly, this was the first time the twins would get to scuba dive and they were very excited. Kerem was raring to go as soon as he hit the water, getting carried away while looking into the water on the surface. His instructor had to pull him back by his inflated BCD and explain why he was having trouble descending. Soon after, they were off. About 5 minutes later, they surfaced and his instructor asked him why they had come back up. His response was “I just felt like coming up,” after which his instructor explained that as divers, we aim to remain underwater for the duration of the dive. After that, he never asked to surface until the dive was over and his instructor was very impressed with how natural diving came to him and how quickly he caught on. Back on land, the instructor joked that we should stop by the boat to pick up his certification cards. I asked Kerem to write a few lines regarding the experience and he came up with this: “Diving was very fun. It was cool to see the fish underwater. I got used to diving and swimming with a tank really quickly. I saw a bunch of different fish: particularly two lionfish and an eel. And a lot of smaller fish.”
Fırat, on the other hand, didn’t have the best experience right off the bat but turned it around significantly. As Fırat is 45 lbs lighter than Kerem, and his shorty wetsuit didn’t fit tightly enough, he got really cold underwater and surfaced shivering after five minutes. He wanted to get back on the boat and was unhappy, so we removed his equipment and wetsuit and let him sit in the sun. Once he wore his mother’s 5mm regular wetsuit, he was once again really motivated to get back in the water. His instructor also asked me to accompany them in case Fırat wanted a familiar face around, but by the time I suited up and got in the water, Fırat was in his element and having a great time. At one point, with Fırat situated face to face with his instructor and me about 5 yards behind him, he motioned to his instructor towards the deeper waters. His instructor responded with a firm ‘no’ gesture and pointed in the opposite direction, toward shallow water. Fırat immediately gave him the ‘OK’ sign, but right when his instructor kicked his fins to move backwards towards the shallow water, Fırat bolted in the opposite direction toward deep water. His instructor on one side and I on the other, we immediately caught up with him and directed him toward the right direction. Once on the boat, when the discussion came to his shortlived “escape attempt,” he gave a sly smile and said, “If I didn’t have to stop kicking to equalize my ears, you guys wouldn’t have caught up with me!”. I also asked Fırat to write down his experience, but getting it from him took significant effort. This wasn’t because he didn’t enjoy the experience; if you couldn’t tell already, Fırat is just a different breed. “I enjoyed diving very much. At first, I was very cold and couldn’t enjoy it at all. But once I changed my suit, it was very fun to swim around underwater and see all the fish and plants. I wanted to go deeper but I was told I needed to get certified first.”
Efe Cem Elci
